Journal box lubricator pad



March 22, 1960 w. J. SOCKELL, SR 2,929,665

JOURNAL BOX LUBRICATOR PAD Filed Oct. 4, 1957 I N VEN TOR.

, V V A y WJSo'ckeZLSr I a fri United States Patent JOURNAL BOX LUBRICATOR PAD William J. Sockell, Sn, Raleigh, N.C.

Application October 4, 1957, Serial No. 688,253

2 Claims. (Cl. 308243) This invention relates to a novel pad for lubricating journals of railway rolling stock and more specifically to an improved pad adapted to be mounted in the bottom of a journal box for more efficiently and uniformly supplying oil to a journal from the oil reservoir formed by the lower portion of the journal box in which the pad is contained.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pad of unique construction including spaced cores formed of a resilient cushioning material and which are disposed in circumferentially spaced relation to one another relative to a journal engaged by the pad and which resilient cores yieldably retain other wick-type portions of the pad in contact with the journal and with the oil of the oil reservoir for supplying oil through said wick-like pad portions by capillary action to the journal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pad including a sack formed of a wick-like material in which the cores are contained in separate compartments of said sack and spaced apart from one another, and wherein passages are provided through the sack between the cushioning cores for the free passage of the lubricant from the reservoir to the portion of the pad in contact with the journal.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lubricator pad including a covering of a material posses sing good absorbent characteristics and which covering substantially covers the side of the sack disposed adjacent the journal and is maintained in contact with the journal by the resilient core rolls to insure a constant, uniform and adequate supply of lubricant to the journal.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a lubricating pad which can be quickly and easily applied to or removed from a journal box.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a pad which will withstand long and hard usage without deterioration and without a decrease in its efliciency, and which will not glaze and is lint free.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a cross sectional view taken through the lower portion of a conventional journal box and showing the lubricator pad in an applied position and in transverse section along the line 1-1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the lubricator pad, on a somewhat reduced scale relative to Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the pad, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 2.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the journal box lubricator pad in its entirety designated generally 5 and comprises a sack, designated generally 6, formed of a lightweight duck fabric comprising an upper ply 7 and a lower ply 8, as best seen in Figures 1 and 3. Said plies 7 and 8 are secured together completely around their marginal edges by stitching 9 to form the sack 6. The sack 6 is divided longitudinally by spaced substantially parallel rows of stitching 10 into spaced substantially parallel chambers or pockets 11. The spaced rows of stitching 10 form a band portion 12 extending between the pockets 11 and which terminates in spaced relation to a front edge portion 13 and a rear edge portion 14 of the sack 6.

The pockets or chambers 11 eachcontains a resilient cushioning core 15 which maintains said pockets of the sack extended, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. The cushioning cores 15 may be formed of various materials suitable for the purpose but are each preferably composed of a plurality of strips 16 of a plastic material, each of which is relatively thick and similar in consistency and appearance to foam rubber. The strips 16 forming the cores 15 may be formed of polyester, which has proven very successful in tests made of the pad 5. This material is flexible and resilient, like other cushioning materials such as foam rubber or sponge rubber, and in addition possesses greater tensile strength and is much more stable when subjected to high temperatures than rubber or other cushioning materials, and is much less likely to assume a permanent set when subjected to pressures over prolonged periods of time, and in addition retains its flexibility and resiliency at very low temperatures. The material is also flame retardant and does not have the tendency to rebound or bounce back, as does foam rubber stock, so that it is more effective in maintaining the pad in contact with the journal at all times. While the cores 15 are not of circular cross section, the pockets 11, containing said cores and held distended thereby, possess a generally rounded shape.

The pad 5 also includes a fabric strip 17 which extends transversely across the outer side of the upper ply 7 of the sack 6 and which is secured by portions of the stitching 9 to the side edge portions of the sack 6, as seen in Figure 1, and which is also secured to the sack 6 by the spaced rows of stitching 10, so that an intermediate portion of the covering strip 17 constitutes an upper ply of the band 12. Said covering strip 17 is of a width substantially corresponding to the length of the cores 15 and is disposed substantially coextensive therewith, as seen in Figure 3. Said covering strip 17 is preferably formed of a knitted wool fabric which constitutes a good absorbing and conducting material for the lubricant 18 contained in the bottom reservoir portion 19 of the part of the journal box 20, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The lubricator pad 5 also includes several grommets 21 which extend through the plies of the front portion 13 of the sack 6, inwardly of and adjacent the stitching 9 of the front edge of the pad. The rear portion 14 is also provided with at least one grommet 21 and several grommets 22 are secured to the pad through the band portion 12 and are disposed between the rows of stitching 10. The grommets 21 assist in maintainig the sack closed and in relieving tension on the stitching 9. The grommets 22 assist in maintaining the band 12 between the pockets 11, relieve tension on the stitching 10, assist in retaining the strip 17 secured to the sack intermediate of its ends, and additionally provide lubricant passages 23 through the bores thereof, as will hereinafter be more fully described.

The pad 5 is adapted to be inserted in the lower reservoir portion 19 of the journal box 20 so that the lubricant conducting strip 17 will be disposed at the top of the pad 5 beneath and in contact with the underside of the journal 24 of said journal box. The pockets 11 and cores 15.form two spaced rolls of the pad 5 which are circumferentially spaced relative to one another with respect to the journal 24 and which are held in spaced apart relation by the band portion 12 of the pad which .t ii 3,929,635

is disposed therebetween. The pad '5 is fieiible' so that it can readily conform itself .to the shape of thejournal box bottom H and to the shape of the journal 24. The resiliency of the cores 15 will maintain portions of the strip 17; covering the upper parts of :the twopockets for trolls 1 1, in yieldable :contact with :the journal T24, The

duck material of which the :sack plies rare formecluco'nstitute s a good conductor for the lubricant 118 :so that tthe -:lubricant will be conveyed by this duck materialto 'the strip 17 and :along the strip 17 by fcapillarysac'tion. "addition, the lubricant 18 pass upwardly through the grommet passages 23 from the space between the rolls on-pockets 11 and beneath the band .12 to the space thereabove. As this upperspa'ce or channel ,2Sis1in'ed. 'with a portion of the strip 1 7, additional :lubn'cant mill rhus be supplied in this manner to said journaltengaging strip 17 for maintaining a substantially uniform and ade- 1 the journal box, andone or more of the grommets 21 thereof may be utilized in efiecting removal of dhe pad from the journal box. The grommet 2'1 at-the rearend 140f the pad and one or more of the grommets 22 may be employed in connection with applying'th'e pad 5.

Various modifications and changes are contempla't'ed and maybe resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter dfined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: .l r l. A journal'box lubn'cator'pad comprising a sack formed of a fabric materialhaving an upperside and an underside, a forward end and a real-end, "means dividing 40 said sack longitudinally into transversely spaced pockets, a core disposed in each pocket, said cores being "formed "of resilient material for maintaining said pockets distended to form rolls, and an applicator strip secured to and overlying the upper side 'of said sack "and constituting an upper 'p'ly of each roll, said pad being adapted to be mounted in the bottom lubricant reservoir forming portion of a journal box and with the applicator strip at the upper side of the pad, the resilient cores of 5 said rolls yieldably retaining circumferentially spaced portions of said applicator strip in contact with a journal of said journal box, said means dividing the sack into pockets comprising spaced substantially parallel rows of stitching connecting the upper and lower sides of the pad to one anotherrand to an intermediate iportion of said applicator strip to form a band portion of the pad between said pockets, said bandpo'rtion spacing the pad rolls itroni one another and combining with portions of the pad rolls to provide channels above and "beneath said band portion, and grommets mounted in and forming passages through said band portion near the ends and center thereof'for the passage of the lubricant in the reservoir from the lower to the upper channel.

2. A journal box pad comprising :an (elongated fabric sack, :means dividing said sack longitudinallyintotrans- *versely, spaced pockets, 2. core otta vresilient cushioning material filling each :of :said pockets, said pockets zand the corescontained therein combining to 'form pad rolls salid tpad having an upper side and :an underside, land -a [strip of fabric constituting a lubricant conveyorandaapplicator disposed :over and secured :to the, upper side of the .=.pad; :said aneans dividing the sack into pockets comprising a hand :portion :formed :by abutting top and bottom portions :of the sack, :and grommets disposed in :said :band

portion .near the ends and 16611161 thereof and-connecting .said :top and bottom sack :portions, said hand portion separating said 'padlrolls from tone another and roomhining therewith to form upper "and lower lubricant channels between said rolls and above and beneath said 5 band portion, and said grommets iorming lubricant ,pas-

sages between the channels. a 7

References Cited in the file 'o'fthis patent UNITED PATENTS 91,000 Devlan a June 8, i869 648;065 Brown Apr. 24,4900 2,017,884 7 Armstrong Oct. 22,1935 2,450;040 Gibson Sept. :28, 1948 2,801,948 Walker Aug. 6, 1 957 Rockwell 'Sept. 24, 91957 

